


Like the Burning End of a Midnight Cigarette

by Carebzz



Category: Kingkiller Chronicles - Patrick Rothfuss
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, F/M, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Self-Harm, i recommend either listening to the song or reading the lyrics after, or before, this is a super sad fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-05-18 19:33:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14858928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carebzz/pseuds/Carebzz
Summary: Based on Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first song fic, and part 1 of of part 2. Thanks to @teccams-socks for being my beta and revising my last line!!!

Everyone knew Denna and Kvothe were destined for heartbreak. There was no happy ending for them. Kvothe knew this, Denna knew this, and yet they still tried. Because they were in love, the kind of first love that burns into your soul, consuming your every nerve. He would have given her the moon and she would have given him the stars.

It fell apart exactly as he knew it would. He denied it for so long, but he was angry and she was scared. They were impulsive and she always left. A few choice words chased her away. And this time, she didn’t return.

His heartbreak was slow. He thought he might get closure, she would return, he could apologize, beg for her forgiveness, but she never came. When she left, his heart started to crack. The next day the cracks deepened. It wasn’t until a full month had passed until he realized she wasn’t coming back. And that was when his heart became two pieces of the whole.

Self destruction is not obvious in the early stages. People expected him to drown his sorrows, so he did. The more he drank, the less money he had, the less time he had. A semester off was strange but understandable, he was young and distraught. And no one knew about the stealing.

He only existed in emotional extremes, the bottom of a whiskey glass to the explosion of a fist. It was anger and sadness that had consumed his life.

What made it worse, what made him irredeemable was knowing he was to blame. She left because of him. He caused her despair. So he punished himself as he saw fit, while numbing the pain.

It was only a few years later he died, following his heart and his spirit. They found him clutching a note addressed to her.

They buried him beneath a willow, next to a field of daisies. And as he faded through the doors of Death, the angels sang a whiskey lullaby.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened next

They knew she killed him.

Denna wasn’t quite sure how everyone knew she was responsible for destroying Kvotbe from the inside out. Whispers surrounded her, punctuated by the occasional outcry.

Most day were unbearable. The drinking made it better. His smile wasn’t burned into her brain, the memory of him hovering over her.

She wrote songs for him. Haunting melodies that made crowds weep. She ached to make the world cry with her, the beautiful boy who loved her and who had left the world. The songs travelled the world, following his memory around the globe. And the more the love spread for him, the more hatred she gained. People talked, then shouted, no longer lowering their voices.

Denna welcomed it, for she was to blame. It was better, she thought savagely, that everyone knew. She wasn’t alone, no longer solely punishing herself but punished by the world.

The drinking got worse, the songs, shorter. Days shorter, filled with sleep. She didn’t leave her bed some days.

One day, she never left again. They found her holding a bottle, scattered sheets of music surrounding her. His name was the only thing written on it, his name becoming her final refrain.

They buried him beneath a willow, next to a field of daisies. And as she faded through the doors of Death, the angels sang a whiskey lullaby.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!!!!  
> Reviews or feedback are always appreciated!!! 
> 
> Find me on tumblr


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